Unrequited
by Anja Sedai
Summary: Natsume's relationship, or lack thereof, with Sae throughout her high school years.


Well, it's been a while since I've written anything, but I've been watching the new season of Hidamari Sketch, and felt like writing something for it to celebrate my happiness. In particular, Hiro's saying Sae's name in her sleep made me grin like crazy. That's not what this fic is about, but maybe sometime in the future. Anyways, this is an attempt to write about Natsume and her weird relationship with Sae. I've written a fic from her perspective before, but I pretty much loathed it, so this is a new attempt based on the extra chapter of volume four of the manga. I'm thinking about expanding it to a couple more chapters if school work doesn't swamp me completely. Also, sorry in advance for any funky spelling or grammar errors, I check my work myself.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hidamari Sketch, as much as I wish I did. I would definitely make Hiro/Sae a little less subtext and a lot more canon if I did own it.

* * *

Natsume rushed into Yamabuki with her heart pounding. The morning was not turning out well, in fact it was just managing to fall short of a complete disaster and it was all she could do to keep herself together.

She had started out the morning brimming with excitement. This was a day she had been looking forward to for awhile, and despite the fact that it turned out her parents wouldn't be coming with her, she was determined to enjoy it anyways. After all, she would only ever go through her high school entrance ceremony once, and she wanted to enjoy it to its fullest. Sure she was a little nervous, but how wrong could things go anyways? All she had to do was catch the train to the stop nearest her new school and walk a few blocks. She wasn't the most confident of people, but she'd figured that she could manage that, so she'd surpressed the nervous butterlies swarming in her stomach and headed out. She'd ridden her bike to the station and caught the necessary train without a problem. Sitting on the train, swaying back and forth as the train moved along, Natsume's mind had drifted back to her insecurities without anything to distract it. Despite being a fairly simple trip, it was still a bit of a distance, and as far as she knew, no one else near her was attending Yamabuki, so she was forced to make the trip completely alone. The butterflies in her stomach started stirring up a storm again. She watched groups of students board and leave the train at various stops and wished that someone from Yamabuki would get on so she wouldn't have to be alone. Suddenly, a voice on the speaker had interrupted her thoughts.

"I am very sorry. Due to some trouble with the signal, we will have to make an emergency stop."

An emergency stop?! Natsume's mind had frantically processed the words. Why did it have to be today of all days that the train had to make an emergency stop. Sure, she'd left with plenty of time to get there, but that hadn't been counting anything like this in. Her mind had raced furiously throughout the entire delay, images of her showing up late, or even worse, completely missing the ceremony, flased through her head. Why, why, why? Her butterflies now felt as if they were trying to concoct a hurricane within her, and her heart was pounding frantically. Even when the train had finaly began to move again she couldn't settle back down.

As soon as the train had finally arrived at the station she needed, Natume had taken off at a dash trying to make up some of the precious time that had been lost. Even though she was close to the school, no one in the uniform had been in sight, which had just made her even more panicked. With her mind in such a nervous jumble Natsume had turned around a corner only to find herself facing a dead end. She had tried to calm down and go over the map again in her head. Where had she taken the wrong turn? She had swiftly turned around and dashed in the opposite direction hoping that her mistake hadn't been made earlier in her dash. After a confused moment of trying to get her bearings at the next intersection, she'd managed to find her way and arrive panting at the school entrance.

Trying to calm down her hammering heart, she hurried to find her locker and put her shoes away so she could get to the ceremony before it started. Opening up the door to what she thought was her locker, she was shocked to find a pair of shoes already neatly occupying it. Natsume could feel the tears starting to well up in her eyes, and felt like just giving up right there. Nothing was going her way, and this day that was supposed to be special was turning out to be a nightmare instead. All she had wanted was to have a wonderful high school entrance ceremony to look back on, and now she was going to be remembering it for all the wrong reasons. She closed her eyes tightly, hoping that she would just wake up to find that it had all been a bad dream and that this wreck of a day was simply a figment of her nervous mind's dreaming. She would wake up and go to the ceremony, and everything would be just fine. As she stood there, one hand bracing her against the lockers, a voice broke through the frantic wishing in her mind.

"That's for the art course's class A. Did you get it mixed up?"

Natsume looked up to find a smiling girl looking at her. There was no laughter at Natsume's mistake in the girl's eyes, much to her surprise, only a kind concern. The girl had a slightly boyish look about her, with her slim build and short hair, and Natsume thought she'd even go so far as to call her handsome. It was as if her own personal white knight had come to save the day. Maybe this was a dream after all, and not quite as bad a one as she first thought. In a daze at this turn of events, Natsume thanked the girl as she showed her the lockers for class B. She wondered where her saviour had come from, since most of the girls seemed to already be inside and she hadn't seen any other Yamabuki students during her mad rush to the school. She hadn't remembered seeing her on the train, but she could have ridden in a different car, shich would explain why she was also so late.

"Did the train make you late too?"

The girl looked back at her, slightly confused, and let out a small yawn.

"Train? No. I live right in front of the school."

Before Natsume had time to ask why she had been so late then if she lived so close, the girl continued on as if expecting the question.

"I pulled an all-nighter because I have a deadline tomorrow."

Natsume furrowed her brow slightly. What deadline was she talking about? The entrance ceremony was only today so she couldn't possible have any work that she'd been doing for school. What other deadline could she possibly have that needed to so desperately be made?

"Deadline?"

They turned and began walking to the gymnasium where the ceremony was to be held.

"Yup. For a novel. I write them as a hobby."

Natsume glanced over at her as the walked. Even though she said it was only a hobby, the fact that she had a deadline that had to be meet obviously meant that she was fairly good. She wondered briefly where her work was published as the girl continued talking.

"That's what I've been doing all this time so I haven't had time to say hello to the other tenants."

The girl suddenly picked up her pace.

"Ah! There's the line! We made it in time! Sorry to just keep rambling. See you around."

Natsume looked forward and there were the students, lined up and waiting for the ceremony to start. She heaved a mental sigh of relief at having made it to the ceremony in time Her white knight really had saved the day, it looked like everything was going to finally be okay. As the other girl started to head off to join her own group, Natsume realized she didn't even know her rescuers name. She couldn't just forget about her, so with a small blush she finally gathered herself together and called at the retreating back of the girl before she disappeared in the crowd.

"Ah! I... I'm-!"

Her voice faltered for a moment, but she was determined not to let this girl who had shown her kindness, and so casually, slip away. Though she hadn't known her long, Natsume really liked her calm manner and the mature air about her. She was definitely a person that she would love to have as her friend, and she was curious to know more about her.

"I'm Natsume! And you are?"

The girl paused, turned back, and with a smile uttered her name.

"Sae!"


End file.
